Characteristics of an Otter
by GrimmauldPhoenix
Summary: Faced with her parents death, Hermione swears revenge. Can Severus help her? Appearances from all your favourite characters!
1. IntroductionInformation on my universe!

Okay so let me start out by just giving you the setting of this story!

Obviously it's non DH compliant! So, I'm just going to tell you what I've ignored for my story!

Severus Snape survived!

As did Fred! Simply because, although it was a masterful stroke on J.K's part, to bring such heart break! I simply can't bring myself to write about George, without writing about Fred!

Severus Snape has returned as potions master! But good old Slughorn is still wandering the halls! I've decided that Slughorn will take the junior classes straight through to O.W.L's and Snape will take the Senior classes! I think this will suit him, as he is still undergoing a lengthy recovery! After this year I may have Slughorn retire again and Snape take back over all Potion classes!

A new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher has been brought in! Professor Nereus Meadowes - An auror, and nephew of Dorcas Meadowes who was a member of the original Order of Phoenix.

McGonagall is of course, headmistress!

I will change keep this updated if any further change occurs!!!


	2. Loosing Control

"Miss Granger yet again you have managed to surpass yourself!! It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how low I render my expectations your lack of ability continues to leave them shattered! Are you so incompetent that you cannot remember that adding essence of dilly flower before gillyweed can lead to an emission of toxic gases, which can be fatal!"

Hermione wasn't listening. Hermione couldn't listen. As much as she wanted to argue and stop him from berating her, her mouth wouldn't move. In fact all she could think was 'what's the point'. She could sense him glaring at her; she could feel the rage he was emitting as if it were a tangible force. She could even vaguely notice Neville fidgeting extremely uncomfortable beside her as Severus Snape eyes progressed from glaring to murderous.

She could hear him deducting points; she could hear the Slytherins sniggering, and yet she couldn't bring herself to focus. She couldn't bring herself to care about any of it. It was like slow motion. She was sure she could almost have heard the cord between her brain and her body snap in half. She couldn't think, she wasn't even sure if she could breathe. This thought struck her suddenly. She couldn't breathe. She needed air. She could feel her breath quicken, and she found herself on the verge of complete hyperventilation.

She wasn't sure how she managed to, but she suddenly snapped her head up high as if for a moment re-entering the world around her. It must have been only seconds since the event had occurred she realised but it felt so much longer. Snape was standing right over her, glaring at her, waiting for her answer. She couldn't remember the question.

Then suddenly she could feel herself preparing to answer, and as if in sync her body began to move, pushing itself up the chair upon which she was seated. She wasn't in control anymore. "Competency does seem indeed to be in question sir; however, I feel that the question would be better served when directed at your competency to teach rather than mine to learn!"

She hadn't even raised her voice and yet the effects were instantaneous. The whole entire class had gone deathly silent, everyone afraid to breathe, afraid to make the slightest movement or sound. Not that they would have been able to if they had wanted to.

Professor Snape was livid, that much was clear. He too seemed to have been momentarily shocked into silence by her outburst before managing to construct his reply."HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY AUTHORITY IN MY CLASSROOM! 200 POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR! A MONTHS WORTH OF DETENTION, AND YOU ARE BANNED FROM THIS CLASSROOM UNTIL YOU ARE ABLE TO POSESS THE DECORUM THAT IS EXPECTED TO BE SHOWN WHEN YOU ARE IN IT".

Hermione had already begun gathering her things as he began his rant and was indeed beginning her exit of the classroom. She managed to sneak a fleeting glance at Ron and Harry, who both resembled victims of an obscured basilisk attack. She could feel herself stopping as she reached the exit and turning around. She knew that she was saying it and yet she couldn't believe the words were coming from her own mouth.

"In that case Professor, I believe we won't be seeing each other for quite a while", and with that she was gone.


	3. Suspense

Ginny Weasley knew something was wrong. She knew it as soon as she entered the great hall for lunch. All around her students were whispering, and stealing glances at the Gryffindor table.

As she drew closer to the table, she was able to ascertain that it was in fact two Gryffindors in particular that seemed to be the subject of the whisperings. 'Of course' she mumbled to herself as she quickened her pace, it would have to be Harry and Ron. Life was never quiet when you were the girlfriend of Harry Potter and the sister of Ronald Weasley. At least, she mused, it was never boring either.

She drew herself up tall, in an effort to look imposing as she quickened her pace to join the boys. The whispering hadn't been this bad since the start of the year she thought to herself, and she remembered how horrible it had been in the beginning when they had all returned for seventh year. The only thing worse than the entire school body thinking you were crazy and delusional Harry had pointed out, was them thinking you were a hero. At least when it was the former, they left you alone.

She was just a few steps away from the boys, when she noticed the weirdest thing of all. It made her stop stone cold in her tracks for several seconds. She had known Ron all her life, naturally, and never once (not even when Voldemort was at his prime, not even after the battle and there were deaths and funerals to attend to) had she ever seen her brother completely ignoring his food.

The boys noticed her approaching and Harry moved up upon the stool. "What the hell is going on with you two?! Ron you haven't even touched your treacle tart!" The boys shared a nervous look at each other before Ron decided that he should be the one to inform her of what had the whole school in a panic. "Ginny, I don't know how to tell you this but.." he snuck another frantic look at Harry "It's Hermione. She's gone mental".

.Despite herself Ginny let out a big breath of relief and a little chuckle "Well thank God for that! I thought you were going to tell me some-one had bloody died the way you two were going on! And here I thought it was the twins who were the melodramatic ones in our family! What do you mean she's gone, as you so eloquently put dearest brother , 'mental'".

But it wasn't Ron who answered "Ginny, I don't think you understand. This time I actually agree with Ron" and Harry proceeded to tell her what had taken place in potions that morning.


	4. Favouritism

Professor McGonagall was completely immersed in her own thoughts as she made her way to the Great Hall. She had just received a rather unpleasant visit from Severus and was trying to contemplate a suitable course of action.

She knew it was wrong, but she held a soft spot for Hermione, and more than that she knew that the girl had acted completely out of character. If it hadn't been for his obvious fuming demeanour Minerva would have even hazarded a guess, that just perhaps, he had simply mistaken her words. She ignored his threats as he demanded action, stating anything less than a suspension would be seen as blatant favouritism.

How ironic, she thought, for him to be standing there accusing her of favouritism. Indeed, she thought, an intervention would be needed and an extremely stern reprimand.

Having said that, she also knew that Severus was blinded by prejudice, and had it been another student (one not so closely affiliated with Harry Potter) his demands would not have been so costly. A little bit of favouritism, she mused, would be needed to balance out his obvious lack of bias.

More than the act itself, Minerva found herself worried about the sudden change in behaviour. Hermione Granger had proven herself to be a cool thinker under pressure and a witch who possessed the rare gift of complete rationality.

On top of this, the girl had been raised well, and even at times where a person twice her age would have buckled under the strain and the pressure she was able to function, and function with manners.

Minerva was so caught up in her own thoughts, that she hadn't actually realised she had arrived at the great hall until she was abruptly torn from her thoughts by a sudden, and rather loud, outburst. "SHE DID WHAT!" Minerva's head quickly darted in the direction of the noise and she found her eyes settling upon the Gryffindor table.

Ginny Weasley, at least, had the decency to look embarrassed.


	5. Realisation

To say he was only slightly mad would have been like calling the Dark Lord only slightly delusional. Severus Snape was livid and enraged, which of course he had wasted no time in letting Minerva know. "Try protecting your little cub now", he had shouted at her before he had taken his leave.

On his way back to the dungeons he had succeeded in taking a further 60 points from Gryffindor, a combined thirty from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and even caught himself taking ten points from his own house after one of the little gits had nearly caused him to change path.

He had never been so angry, not even when it came to Potter and there had been plenty of times when Potter had been the on the receiving end of his murderous rage. Little Miss Know-It-All had succeeded in having an utter breakdown due to the fact that she had finally made a genuine error and Minerva was so willing to look past it. As soon as she had lifted her grubby Gryffindor paw to drop in the dilly flower she had been holding, he had seen his opportunity. She being the little madam that she was, of course, was unable to restrain herself at the possibility of not being so perfect at all. The Lost Child of Ravenclaw had managed to make it through a war semi composed but was unable to process the fact that maybe she didn't know it all after all.

He smirked as he remembered the moment when she had realised what she was doing wrong, all colour had drained from her face and she had promptly progressed into denial and then she had lifted her hand with the ingredient to place it into the cauldron.

Severus Snape suddenly came to an abrupt halt a few yards from his office "and then she had lifted her hand with the ingredient to place it into the cauldron" he muttered. His eyebrows began to rise as he repeated the sentence to himself, louder this time "and then".

Severus did not like where this was going as he began to quickly go over the incident once more. There was no question in his mind now; her reaction had definitely come before she had begun to place the essence of dilly flower into the cauldron. His mind was buzzing with possible scenarios, why would she react first and then act? 'She was acting purposefully' a voice in his head shrieked 'she wanted to cause an accident'.

He could feel his temper rise again as he entered his rooms and began to pour himself a drink. She had wanted to cause a possibly fatal accident, wait until he shoved this in the Headmistress's face. But even as Severus took his first mouthful of whiskey the reasons why this was unlikely began streaming into his head.

Firstly she would rather cut off her own leg than be responsible for endangering Potter and Weasley, and for some unknown reason she was also protective of the rest of the bumbling idiots that belonged to her house. Combined with the fact that she had just fought and survived a callous war and he was certain, had had seen enough casualties to last a lifetime, she simply couldn't have done it purposefully.

Severus began to strain his head for more possible scenarios, replaying the occurrence over and over until he was suddenly very aware of something he had missed. The question wasn't why she had reacted before she had begun to place the ingredients in the cauldron, rather it was, what had caused her sudden reaction?


	6. Escaping

Hermione couldn't remember how she gotten there, but she suddenly found herself standing in the alleyway beside the Hogs Head. The last half an hour had gone past in a blur. She hadn't realised what the burning sensation had been at first, and by the time she had had the presence of mind to pull her necklace into view it had gone cold. After that, she did not remember much. Though, what she did remember she didn't want to.

She made her way into the Hogs Head and seated herself in a cubby as far hidden from the entrance as she could be. It hadn't been long before Aberforth had made his way over. "Doesn't do business any favours to have students in uniform parading around the premises", he looked pointedly at her. She lifted her head to make eye contact, and she could sense his realisation. Of course, he didn't know what had happened but she knew he understood. After all, what is it they say? Bartenders are just underpaid psychologists. "A firewhiskey please". He soon returned with one "and keep them coming" she managed to add.

Somewhere she registered his sigh as he pushed himself along the bench opposite her. "Take it they don't know your here," he grunted with a nod in the general direction of Hogwarts. Hermione chanced a glance up "Unless they've placed a tracker on me I doubt it". She took a deep breath and continued "I can't face anyone yet. I know I will have to, but just not yet". She searched his eyes for understanding, and she found it in the depths of them. "You can stay here til were closing or until you're ready". He made to walk away, but caught himself and turned around. "You know, Miss Granger, that's not the answer to your problems". She smiled a sad smile before replying in an almost whisper "No. But maybe it'll help me forget the question".


	7. Aftermath

She had been sitting there for nearly two hours now he noted. He was inclined to leave her to it. After all, she wasn't your typical Hogwarts student. Not only was she of age, but she had also spent the large majority of her teenage years facing terrible evils, and in the end being a third of the group that brought about the downfall of one of the most evil wizards of all times.

He wasn't surprised that she seemed to be having some sort of crisis, and he knew, at times like these people were best left alone. At least for a little while. His curiosity did lead him to wonder about the circumstances which had led the young witch into his establishment that afternoon. Post traumatic stress? He wondered. It wasn't unheard of, and he knew that at the very least she had undergone a cruciatus session courtesy of the demented Bellatrix Lestrange. He also heard whispers of a battle with He-Who-Will-Never-Be-Named-Again in Godric's Hollow when she had accompanied that boy in his crusade to bring an end to the bastard.

Even now he was nearly two years dead; Aberforth couldn't help but feel a bitter angriness towards his brother. Using people, no he corrected himself, using children as pawns in an adult's war. What did he expect would become of those children after? Of course, Albus had been proven right and Voldemort was now dead, but looking at the broken girl before him, he couldn't help but wonder if the end really did justify the means. 'The Greater Good' he thought venomously.

Surely his brother could have at least let them share the burden, rather than leaving three underage wizards on the run for almost a year seeing the most terrible of sights. Nightmares, he was positive, would be an everlasting aftermath of their experience. Not that he knew exactly what went on. From what he could gather, very few actually did. Potter, the Weasley boy and Granger had always divulged the information on a need to know basis, and as far as they were concerned, nobody had a need to know a lot of it.

He watched her drain another bottle and place it in a line amongst the other two she had already quite successfully put away. He watched as she stared absentmindedly ahead for the briefest of moments before moving onto the next bottle. Even before today, he had noticed the change in her since the war had ended. Even when she was at her most comfortable surrounded by family and friends that haunted look remained in her eyes. Innocence was always the first casualty of war. He had seen it many times, but it never got an easier.

He was sure many in his position would have tried to comfort her, he was also sure that is why she had found her sanctuary here rather than the various other places she could have gone. People would say that she needed to talk to someone, but as far as he was concerned, she was as much an adult as any of them and as such was the case, she had earned the right to choose to talk when she was damn well ready. People might not have been able to see it, but this was his mark of respect. He wasn't like the others that fawned over her and her friends, and for this he knew she would be grateful.


	8. Preparing for Battle

Severus Snape was finishing the last sweep of his patrol as he made his way to the Headmistresses office. She had sent him a note nearly an hour ago requesting he presence as soon as he was able. He scoffed at the notion that she had written it in such nice manner, clearly trying to hide the fact that it was not an optional request.

Severus hoped it had something to do with Miss Granger's punishment, and steeled himself for a battle of the tongues. He was sure that Minerva would have gone too easy on the Gryffindor princess and was now waiting to beg him to take her back into his class.

He knew he would eventually agree, as apart from the fact she was one of only several nearly competent students, he also wanted to find out what had caused her performance in class. He would use his Slytherin cunning to ensure that he garnered the information he wanted in return for her chance at a potions NEWT.

He allowed himself a smirk as he reached the entrance to the Headmistress's office. He was just about to enter, when out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of silver. He turned his head quick enough to establish that it had indeed been a patronus charging across the courtyard, although not quick enough to note more than the fact it had been some sort of large animal.

Shaking his head, he muttered 'bludger' at the gargoyle who quickly sprang to life granting him entrance.


	9. Worries and Guilt

Harry was sitting in his usual corner of the Gryffindor common room trying his hardest to finish his defence against the dark arts essay.

The problem was, that usually he would write one or two paragraphs, and give it to Hermione to check over.

This way, she would point out which points carried more relevance and he would then continue his essay on from there, stopping every so often to let Hermione make any necessary amendments.

Hermione still hadn't been seen since the incident in potions earlier on and he was beginning to feel extremely uneasy.

After dinner, he and Ron had gone up to the library expecting to find her sitting in her corner surrounded by a mountain of books.

They had searched the whole library and nothing.

They decided to do a brief sweep if the castle before heading back to the common room, where Ginny had checked her bedroom to no avail.

Suddenly it hit him like a brick on the head, and he laughed that he hadn't thought of it before, the Marauders Map.

Harry had checked it just over an hour ago and hadn't seen her anywhere. The map now lay open beside him, and his eyes would scan it every couple of minutes to see if she had popped up somewhere.

Harry could hear the portrait swing open and eagerly glance a look in the direction, hoping Hermione would topple through.

Instead Ginny and Ron made their way into the common room, and catching his eye they both shrugged as they made their way over to him.

"Anything?" Ginny asked hopefully as she pushed into the seat beside him giving him a quick peck on the forehead.

"Nothing, she's not shown up on the map" he replied.

"Mate, you don't think maybe we should go see McGonagall?" Ron began.

"I don't want to get her in trouble if she's left the grounds. I think we should wait until curfew at least before we decide to go to the Headmistress. If she gets caught out of the grounds as well as blowing up at Snape today she'll be in a right mess".

"Yeah, probably right Harry. I dunno though, I'm getting a bit worried. I mean I don't think I've ever seen her be so unstable", Ron grimaced.

The three of them sat in silence each looking at the map until Ron chirped up "Bollocks Harry, you don't think we've forgotten her birthday or anything or maybe I've forgotten an anniversary"

Ginny sighed "Ron. I don't think you two being absent minded would cause her to yell at Snape, I mean, you always forget her birthday and things like that".

Even though Ginny had meant to reassure them, Harry suddenly found himself feeling more and more guilty.

It was true, Ron and himself were never great at remembering things like her birthday, and often the only contact in the summer was her sending them letters to which they tried to reply to, but forgot until another letter arrived with a demand for a reply 'You promised you both would write this summer'.

With this Harry could feel himself becoming more and more uneasy, it was true she had to put up with an awful lot from them, and still no matter what else was going on be it ministry interfering with Hogwarts, or escaped convicts, Hermione had never lost her temper in a classroom.

Harry could feel a sense of dread coming over him as he began to wonder what exactly had happened. He was quickly pulled out of his spiralling mood by an oblivious Ron whispering

"Mate, you think maybe it could be uhhh 'female' problems, she always gets a bit grumpier then".

Harry laughed in spite of himself as he watched Ginny take a swing at his head muttering obscenities words in the process.

The laughter however was short lived as a familiar silver goat came prancing through the common room.

"_She's with me. She's safe."_

As happy as Harry was to know that Hermione was safely under the care of Aberforth Dumbledore, he found himself deeply troubled at the fact she was hiding in the Hogs Head.


	10. Discovery

"Ahh Severus, thank you for coming", a rather tired looking Professor McGonagall greeted him from behind her desk.

"I wasn't aware I had a choice Headmistress", he sneered back at her.

Allowing herself a sigh Minerva steeled herself for his abrasive comments "Severus I assure you, your attendance is appreciated".

Before Severus could reply a voice could be heard coming from his left hand side "Minerva, the search was negative". Minerva gave a nod of her head in thanks as the portrait continued "Severus, my boy, it has been too long."

"Or rather not long enough", the young man retorted as he locked eyes with a pair of twinkling blue ones.

"Oh come now, the war is over, if ever there was a time..."

Before Professor Dumbledore could finish his reply however Professor Snape cut him off "Precisely and as such I am no longer in your servitude, and most certainly not in that of a portrait".

A crestfallen appearance graced that of the famed headmaster as he retreated into his thoughts.

"Thank you Albus", came the words from McGonagall before she directed her attention to the man in front of her. "Severus I have called you here in regards to Miss Granger".

The dark head man glared "I hope that you have taken my recommendations to heart _Headmistress _in regards to her performance this morning."

"Severus, as much I agree she does need to be reprimanded", she continued ignoring his scoff "There is a problem which first needs to be overcome. In order to punish, or as the case may be not punish", here she reached for a letter that was strewn across her desk and held it out for the surly potions professor "she must first be found".

Severus arched his eyebrow as he turned the letter over and began to read. "Albus, has at my request been searching for news amongst the other portraits and has just returned from conversing with The Fat Lady, it seems she hasn't been since she left your classroom this afternoon".

So immersed in the letter before him, he did not contradict her choice of words for the manner in which Miss Granger had departed from his classroom. After several more seconds Severus lifted his head still clutching the parchment within his hands.

"The Dark Lord, he managed to find her parents".

"I'm afraid so Severus".


	11. Intercepted

"Harry mate, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"What would you have me do instead Ron?! Leave her there?! She's obviously upset about something; don't you think she needs us right now? Hasn't she always been there for us?"

A brief silence was shared between the two, as they both became briefly ensconced in their thoughts.

"You're right".

"Right so, a lot of the passageways were destroyed and cut off in the final battle. We'll make our way to the room of requirement and use the tunnel there".

Harry spun on his foot and continued along the dark corridor they had been travelling, map in hand.

Ideally, the two of them would have been using Harry's invisibility cloak, however it was at this time in the possession off Fred and George Weasley who were attempting to use it as a foundation design for another one of their creations.

It was unfortunate, that during the brief time Harry had spent reassuring Ron about the plan he had forgone another look at the map. It was due to this, that Harry found himself rounding the corner and walking straight into Professor Snape.

Jumping back, Harry heard Ron gulp from behind him as the Professor righted himself.

"Potter and Weasley. I should have known. I think that will be 50 points from Gryffindor for being out of bed after curfew", he said glaring at the two boys before him.

Ron began shifting uneasily behind Harry; however Harry made no move to back down.

"We're on our way to see the Headmistress actually, it's an emergency".

Harry watched as he saw Snape contemplate his answer. Surprisingly he seemed to find weight in the words and made no immediate sign of continuing his tirade.

"Perhaps you would be so kind as to inform of the details Potter, or has fame left you with a thirst only to converse with those of us who are of infinite stature."

Harry felt a quick shudder over take him, as he realised that the Professor was of course taking a jab at the recent photograph of himself shaking hands with the Minister of Magic under the title 'Potter Believes'. He had of course been reluctant to partake, but felt he owed it to Kingsley to help rebuild the wizarding world's trust in the Ministry.

It was however Ron who spoke up "Its Hermione, she's mis..."

"misplaced her cat", Harry quickly cut of the other boy shooting him a look of annoyance. They were supposed to be getting her back and trying to keep her out of trouble rather than landing her directly in it.

Snape sneered "I don't know which is more infuriating, you believing a missing cat to be a state of emergency or your belief that such a feeble lie would fool me?" Snape heightened his glare before continuing, "As it is, both the headmistress and I are both aware of the whereabouts, or should I say lack thereof, of Miss Granger".

"Aberforth sent you a patronus as well?!" Ron began, only to be once again silenced by Harry's glare.

Professor Snape however seemed almost placated by the slip of tongue "She's made it out of the grounds", it wasn't a question. Almost simultaneously, another realisation clicked in his head "And I'll take twenty points for lying directly to a teacher Potter. It seems we are rather nearer a certain _required_ room than the Headmistress's office".

Harry grimaced and silently cursed Ronald Weasley, and not for the first time.

"Back to your dormitories, both of you, and if I such much as get a sniff of you leaving again I won't hesitate to remove your privilege of belonging to a certain house team".

With the Professor Snape changed directions and swept quickly up the corridors back to the Headmistress's office, leaving a very irritated Harry Potter behind.

"You better bloody hope she doesn't get in too much trouble, she'll never forgive you" and with that he left a very sullen Ronald Weasley in his wake.


	12. Experimental

In a dimly lit corner of the Hogs Head Hermione sat, her head perched upon her hands. Aberforth had cleared the pub a little over half an hour ago and had left her with the instructions to as stay as long as she needed. Hermione was feeling slightly dizzy still as a result from her adventure with firewhiskey earlier on. In an effort to stall her complete annihilation she had switched to butter beer about an hour ago, and still nursed her first one.

A sudden bang outside the pub brought her back to the present. Her ears perked up as she tried to listen for the cause. Hearing only hushed murmurs she made her way closer to the door wand in hand.

"You knock on the door"

"It was your idea to come over here in the first place"

The voices were familiar and it only took her the briefest of moments before she placed the owners as the Weasley twins. Slumping slightly against the inner door frame Hermione continued to listen.

"Because he would have found out one way or the other, better we warn him. Besides as I remember it was you who suggested we use the goat as an experiment"

"Because you said a cat would be too small"

"Only because you insisted a dog would move to quickly"

"It would! Which wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't insisted on adding a dash of moon fly hair"

"Which we wouldn't have needed if you hadn't wanted the potion to be purple instead of brown"

"Who would by a brown sluggy potion? And my dear brother it was you who brewed the potion"

"Because you said charming it would ineffective, besides the potion itself was your idea"

"My idea because you I got the idea from your joke"

"Which was a response to your joke"

"YOU WERE BORN FIRST".

Neither spoke for a few moments and Hermione had begun to think that they had lost their nerve to do whatever they had been planning. She smirked at the idea of them befouling one of Aberforth's beloved goats. She needn't have worried as she soon heard muffled laughter and the suggestion of 'potion, wand, and cloak', the wizarding alternative to rock, paper, and scissors. Which, she still contested to this say made little sense.

After several games and continued bickering, Hermione decided she could wait no longer to see what had caused this little show and so, without a second thought, unlockedthe door with a flick of her wand and pulled it upon.

The boys, taken by surprise both jumped back and managed to fall over each other in the process, revealing a shimmering goat which stood behind them.

"Bloody Hell Herms, nearly gave us a

"Heart attack", George joined in upon catching his breath.

Hermione however was ignoring them and merely raised her hand in direction of the goat, whose was causing enough light to brighten the whole alley.

"What is that?"

Both boys shared a look before gulping.

"Well you see", began Fred picking himself up from the ground and holding his hand out to George "We spent last weekend at home, and happened to be their when Andromeda visited with Teddy".

"And, well you could say, he was somewhat of a muse to us" George finished.

Hermione stifled a chuckle, "Hate to disappoint you boys, but regardless of what you've been informed, that" she once again pointed at the goat who seemed somewhat oblivious "is not art".

"Trial and Error"? George pleaded.

"We thought how fun it would be if we could develop a potion that would for a certain period of time, allow your hair to change colour in accordance with your mood" Fred smiled wryly, "Unfortunately, it appears we may have been a little quick with rushing through to the experiment stage".

Hermione regarded them both for a moment, before succumbing to laughter. A deep bellied, unstoppable laughter that left her crouching on the floor with tears streaming down her face. Both Fred and George too seemed to find the whole situation amusing, and allowed themselves to be overcome with laughter.

After a few minutes, the three seemed to have laughed themselves out. It was only then that Fred seemed to notice the oddity of Hermione being at the Hog's Head at all.

"Pray tell, what gives us the honour of finding the beloved head girl of Hogwarts here anyway, and" Fred allowed himself a cautious sniff "Have you been drinking?".

Hermione immediately sobered, as if suddenly remembering the reason herself.

Glancing at them, she wondered if maybe some company would help. Something to take her mind off the task that lay ahead of her.

She opened her mouth to invite them in, but was cut off with the arrival of a livid looking Professor Snape and a worried looking Headmistress.

"It just so happens" Snape sneered "We were wondering the exact same thing".


	13. Returning to Hogwarts

Back inside the pub, Hermione found herself faced with a very agitated Headmistress, who was less than impressed with her disappearance as well as her intoxicated state.

"Miss Granger! You will accompany Professor Snape and I back to Hogwarts immediately!"

Hermione chanced a look up at her Headmistress, and found her face contorted in a jumble of emotions, which in her current state she was unable to read.

"Miss Granger, do I have to repeat myself!" For a brief moment, it seemed to Hermione as if the whole world stood still. She knew she was being met with a fork in the road, and she knew she had a decision to make.

She could stay here and continue getting hammered or she could return to being the faithful academic who never stepped a foot out of line. She was nearly ready to tell Professor McGonagall that while she appreciated her concern that she should, as Ron would put it, bugger off. But something stopped her.

A little voice was taunting her from inside her head, saying something that she couldn't quite hear. She summoned what will she had left and tried to focus "Where better, and more resourceful to formulate a plan than Hogwarts' it said to her. A plan quickly began to form in her head. She would return to Hogwarts. She would use this time to gather any information she needed to help her on her quest.

She could also use this time to apply for a job in the Ministry, after all, where better to learn than in the belly of the monster.

Hermione could feel a new emotion washing over her very suddenly. This one was better than the utter confusion she had just been facing, this was she was sure a more productive emotion, one which would encourage functionality. Revenge.

"Miss Granger", the Headmistresses voice had reached a new level of shrill, before she inhaled and tried again "Hermione, I understand what you must be feeling. To loose ones parents is always difficult, worsened by circumstances such as these. This being said, to leave school grounds, especially in a climate of such unease is dangerous. While your actions today have been understandable in light of the news at hand, I must warn you that they cannot go unnoticed."

This seemed to garner a reaction, as Hermione turned to face the two Professors. "Headmistress, Professor Snape" she began defiantly "I sincerely apologise for all my behaviour today, and though I know an apology won't begin to make amends for my utter lack of disrespect to you Professor and my complete disregard for the rules I would very much like to return to Hogwarts where we can discuss what happens from here".

Hermione was sure she could see a wave of relief sweep over the Headmistress as well as an attempt to hide a stray tear which had made its way into her eye. Professor Snape on the other hand remained impassive, if not more enraged.

He simply stared at her, causing Hermione to break eye contact when she recalled his ability to read minds. Not an extremely useful person to have around when you had just decided to undertake a personal mission of revenge with the main aim of not alerting anyone to your plans.

Of course, Hermione mused, they would have no reason to even suspect such a reality, as far as they all she was still the dutiful Head Girl. One of the instrumental players in the fall of Lord Voldemort. They would allow her to grieve and then assume, being the sensible girl that she was, she would pick herself back up and try to rebuild what was left of her life.

She may not have known exactly where they were, but she was sure of one thing, Alan and Jean Granger were both very much dead. She also knew, that somebody was going to pay.


End file.
